The Maya Civilization

history · ancient · Americas

Mighty temples. The Maya built huge stone pyramids and temples that still stand in the jungles of Central America and Mexico today.

Picture writing. They created glyphs, the most advanced writing system in the Americas before Europeans arrived. Each symbol could stand for sounds or whole words.

Sky watchers. The Maya were amazing astronomers who studied the stars, the Sun, and the planet Venus with incredible accuracy.

Clever calendars. They built detailed calendars and used advanced mathematics, including the idea of zero, long ago.